CASE STUDY Northern Alaskan Tundra
• 1,700 types of plants o Grow very low to the ground o Can photosynthesise 24 / 7 in summer as always sunlit o Lots of fungi , mosses , lichen , dwarf shrubs o Some have anti-freeze in them or special adaptations
§ EG reindeer lichen that is drought resistant
• Animals also evolved to have thicker coats , bury into the permafrost for when temperatures get warmer , camouflage and have compact bodies to prevent heat loss
• Birds migrate there from southern areas to tundra annually because of reduced competition and plentiful insects
• Fires becoming more prevalent and severe , eg fire burned 621 square miles on Alaska ’ s North Slope in 2007 o Caused by warmer temperatures and dry weather
• Warming more rapidly than the rest of the planet
• Indigenous peoples such as the Inupiat still lead largely traditional lives in communities , such as in Kaktovik on Barter Island
• However , government is moving them to other regions due to increased oil drilling and mining , and there houses are sinking into the land due to the melting of permafrost o This is leading to a loss of spirituality and religious heritage , also increased by Western society contact and technology , globalisation o The community is able to hunt 3 whales each summer to store as food for winter o They follow precise cultural hunting practices and the meat is divided between the families for winter o With the melting of the ice , polar bears are beginning to move onto land and into Kaktovik on the lookout for whale meat
§ This means the Kaktovik Polar Bear Patrol is out every night on quad bikes making sure bears do not stray into town but stay outside the community and at the whale bone pile
• RESULT OF WESTERN / TECHNOLOGICAL AND CLIMATE CHANGES à THREATENED AND CHANGING ECOSYSTEM
Link to great article about Kaktovik shared by Leonardo De Caprio
https :// www . nytimes . com / 2016 / 12 / 18 / science / polar-bears-globalwarming . html ?_ r = 0